Review of Crazy For The Storm
The story of the accident and the trip down the mountain is interspersed with the story of young Norman growing up. The author tells the two stories in alternating chapters. Neither story is strong enough to stand alone. Together, though, the two stories complement each other in a way that makes for interesting reading.
Review of Outliers
This book is short in pages and even shorter in insight. There’s nothing new or important in this book. There is no secret to success. Success is a combination of knowledge, effort, and luck. Luck, as in opportunity, is every bit as important as knowlege and effort.
Review of The Bounty
Like most people, my introduction to the story of the Mutiny on the Bounty is from film, specifically the one with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins (which by the way I have added to my Blockbuster que). I vaguely remember seeing the one with Marlon Brando. The Mel Gibson film is a fair re-enactment that gives equal treatment to both sides of the story. One version is that Bligh was a tyrant who had it coming and that Fletcher Christian had simply had enough. The other version is that Fletcher had overreacted and the mutiny was a spur of the moment decision made under the influence of alcohol. The truth lies somewhere in between.
Review of Hot, Flat, and Crowded
This book doesn’t offer a step by step guide on how to implement renewable energy sources. Instead, Thomas Friedman takes a big picture view of where we are now and where we need to go in the years ahead. And he makes a very good case. The nation that is first in renewable energy will be the one to benefit the most.
Review of Columbine
Most people who have followed this story know of the existence of video and written evidence detailing the actions and motives of the two killers. Part of what makes this book so compelling is that the author is able to use that mountain of evidence to get inside the minds of Eric and Dylan. The basement videos were just a small part of what they left behind. Each boy also left behind detailed journals which gave insight into their thinking.
Review of Lost Paradise
This is a true life Lord of The Flies tale. It is a story of what can happen in a closed society where there is no law or social conscience. With a limited supply of women and no real risk of punishment, the men on the island took advantage of their dominance and routinely raped girls as young as nine. It all came to light when one of the victims revealed her story to an outsider who was visiting the island. Thus began a long multi-year process where a number of men were brought to trial for the alleged rapes.